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Re: Oxalic Application

The varrox worked very well but as I mentioned the big issue was the time per hive. It was taking us about 6 minutes per hive. I think that if a person was to use 4 of these so you could do eached wrapped unit at once it would work out very good. We did a burn outside of the hive to see how much vapour we would get and it is considerable. There was no problems in filling a hive with vapor. I am sure that every bit of the hive would be filled. Cowans unit at $6600.00 is a bit pricy when compared to 4 varrox units. The varrox would be faster to move and set up as well when dealing with wrapped hives.. One of our concerns was the issue of escaping fumes and coming in contact with it. We used the recomended protection and were suprised that it did not seem to be an issue. We sealed the top entrance on the wrap with tape and used the wet towel to seal the entrance as well. We would pull the varrox from the hive , set up for the next one and leave the ones treated closed up untill all 4 were done. Then we would open them as the next unit was being treated and the vapor was not a problem.
The other thing I like about this is if one wants to treat again in March, again there is no opening of the hive.

Re: Oxalic Application

I used the varrox yesterday on one yard. Based on Allen Dick's reports on his web site, I've quit closing up the hive. I just make sure the vapor comes out the small top entrances I use in the winter. One hive - I've been slow to put my mouse guards in - had a mouse come flying out the entrance. It was moving fast so I don't think the vapor is that deadly. I don't wear protection, get a whiff of the vapor from time to time and it is irritating but not overwhelming. Allen mentioned several drawbacks to the Cowan unit on his site. For those interested in OA vaporization it's a must read. http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/